Google Drive is a cloud-based file storage and sharing application that is part of the Google Apps for Education suite. All Smith students, faculty, and staff are allocated unlimited storage for their Google Drive files, Smith Mail, and Picasa web albums. (For information about maximum allowable file sizes, click here.)

IMPORTANT:Do not store files containing Personally Identifiable Information, Secure Data, or Protected Data in your Google Drive account. For definitions of these terms, see section 6.3 of the ITS Comprehensive Information Security Program.

To get the most functionality from Google Drive, we recommend downloading the desktop version for your computer. For instructions, click here.

Sharing and collaborating

Google Drive document-sharing is powerful tool. You can easily share your files and images with others without having to email them as attachments. You can give others rights to edit individual files or a whole folder, and even share files with non-Smith, non-Google users. For more information, click here.

Important: If you have Google Drive installed on your computer, note that you must still do all your sharing from within Google Drive on the web.

Working with files or folders that have been shared with you

If another user shares a file or folder with you, you must move it from the Shared with Me folder to the My Drive folder before you can reposition or share it yourself. For instructions, click here.

Managing file and folder ownership

You can share files and folders with any user inside or outside Smith. However, you cannot transfer file or folder ownership to anyone who does not have an "@smith.edu" email address.